


Light a Candle, Cast a Shadow

by quicksylver28



Series: More Than Human AU [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Teenagers, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Explicit Language, Jotunn Loki (Marvel), M/M, Mutant Powers, Not actually brothers, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Shadowbending & Shadowbenders, Thunder and Lightning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-10-22 21:37:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17670554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quicksylver28/pseuds/quicksylver28
Summary: The idiot was late. Again.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was my November 2018 Rough Trade attempt. I didn't make the 50k i planned because of reasons, but i got to 20k+. This is just the first part of the story i have planned and i hope to get around to writing the rest of it this year. i won't get more specific than that because i'm infamous for giving myself deadlines and blowing them off right after. lols.

His idiot brother was late. Again.

Not that he expected anything different. The blonde numbskull had shown up a week late to his own birth, terrifying his mother and making his father brag to the other men at work that his boy was so mighty that he had to take an extra week to make his entrance to the world. 

Theo had been perpetually late ever since. The idiot. He would be late to his own funeral.

Lawrence huffed, pulling his down jacket closer to his lanky frame as he stomped his feet against the cold. The bus station was deserted, rightfully so for this time of night. The clerk in the ticket booth was falling asleep on himself but with his advanced age, it was more likely that he'd given up the ghost and just hadn't fallen over yet. 

The rest of the place was harshly lit, grimy and just as desolate. Dirty winter sludge was melting near the doors, dirty footprints carried the cold and damp from the automatic doors which didn't quite close all the way. A sharp and bitter wind sliced through the almost six inch wide gap, making the normally cold station almost unbearably frigid. 

He snarled, pulling his knitted cap down over his wild curls and wished that he'd thought to bring a scarf. Not that he'd thought he'd need one with the Indian Summer the weatherman has gushed about all week. Not when he thought that he would step off the heated bus and into a heated car. 

"Shit" he muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets. The fucking idiot.

The automatic doors creaked and whooshed, cranking open just wide enough to let a broad body squeeze through. A burly blonde with a wide grin and bright blue eyes jogged towards him, yanking his own knitted cap off his head to reveal tussled blonde hair. 

"You're late" Lawrence sneered, stopping the blond in his tracks. 

The larger boy ducked his head sheepishly, his smile faltering as he wrung the cap in his huge hands. 

"Yeah, sorry" he shrugged, leaning down to grab the hard cover suitcase that sat nearby. "I've been trying to do better… I even bought a watch and everything because I was leaving my phone in all sorts of places."

L glanced at the other man's bare wrists. "Where is it then?"

Theo looked, a confused look on his handsome face. L rolled his eyes and gestured at his wrists.

"The watch, you numskull."

"Oh…" the blond looked down at his own wrist then huffed a soft laugh. "It fell off during practice and our goalie fell on it and crushed it flat. Watch pancake."

L already regretted asking. "Ah…" he nodded, letting the matter drop.

Theodore's car was a Dodge Ram Truck, the latest model because it was 'only the best for Odin's number one son'. Hot rod red with new snow tires and decaled across the back with his college varsity ice hockey team. The stylized growling Husky head with the crossed hockey sticks that Theo tapped for luck every time he walked by it. Today was no different. 

L hated ice hockey and everything to do with cold and ice so he gave a disgusted sigh and stomped around to the passenger side just as Theo slung his suitcase into the back with a thump. 

"Watch it, you oaf." he scolded the blonde, "Those are my things you're slamming around."

"Sorry," Theo grinned, unrepentant and hopped into the driver's seat. 

L strapped himself in, bracing himself against the dash as he recollected how recklessly Theo drove in high school and how that was unlikely to change now that he was in college. He was proven correct when the truck peeled out of the deserted parking lot and shot down the empty, snow covered road.

Winter in Connecticut was beautiful. Picturesque some would call it. L would call it damn cold and would be infinitely grateful that he'd been granted a full ride scholarship to a college in New Mexico. The fields, the trees, the mountains were all coated in fresh powder, unusually early for this time of year. That just proved to him further that the entire state was out to spite him. He'd never liked that place since moving here at five years old and it in turn, felt no love for him in return. 

His welcome to Odin's house had been a stolidly cold one and had never warmed to him either; the heart of the hearth frozen to ice. The day he'd been exiled after The Incident™ at twelve, he'd been both devastated and overjoyed to be leaving that cold and unwelcoming place. He'd never looked back, well not voluntarily anyway. Every thanksgiving, Frigga; Odin's wife and Theo's mother would request that the family get together for the holiday and apparently, in her eyes, Lawrence was still family.

No matter what anyone else said, her mind would not be changed; her will could be budged. So he would drag his sad carcass back to this frozen hell and play nice with the fam. Thankfully it took a day and a half to get there from New Mexico to he'd never had to stay long at the great house. Besides, he only made the trip because he was technically still a minor and was beholden to the family by the binding contract his parents had signed all those years ago. 

But this would be his last year though, he was turning 21 in December. The one good reason he'd found so far from having a birthday on Christmas. After this year, he would never have to come back here again. He could wash this hands of these people, once and for all.

"Mom's really happy that you could make it this year" Theo said loudly, shattering the silence and making L flinch at the sudden noise. The blond seemed oblivious as he chatted on. "She wasn't sure you would come with the early frost and all. We all know how much you hate the cold."

L shrugged, leaning his forehead against the glass so that he could stare outside. "It's not like I have any choice in the matter. Not when the contract all but demands it."

Theo frowned, "Hey, it's not about the stupid contract. She just wants to spend some time with us. So does dad. He's agreed to take the weekend off even though it’s the biggest sale time down at the lot. He's even letting Heimdall take all the commissions over Black Friday. Would he do that for someone he didn't want to spend time with?"

L rolled his head slowly so that he could give Theo a cutting look. "The only one the Great All-Father himself wants to see is his golden boy, hockey hero. He hasn't been happy to see me since the day I arrived on your doorstep from the old country."

"Don't say that." Theo pouted. "He was just a bit surprised is all. You were … not… what he was expecting at all."

"Considering he was expecting a little girl to play slave and mail-order bride for his young son, I don't blame him for being a bit taken aback."

"Don't mock Father." Theo scowled, his hands tightening on the wheel. "You were not some mail order bride."

L raised a single quizzical eyebrow. "Then what was I? Or rather… what did he tell you I was?"

The blond paused, taking a moment to really think. "You were a companion. Someone to keep me company because Mother couldn't have any more children. Your parents wanted a better life for you so they asked a favour of my Father to have to come live in the United States and make a better life than they ever had."

L hummed, turning to face Theo and resting his chin on his palm as he contemplated the other man. "I'm not sure if you are just being noble or naïve? Maybe both. I don't know. I do know that you are hopelessly deluded either way."

"Hey" the blond huffed but L continued to speak.

"So what you are saying that Odin, your father Odin, the shrewdest business man known to exist, just decided to take in a little orphan girl he knew nothing of and bring her to America from the depth of the old country, all for the purpose of giving her a loving home and a chance at a better life out of the goodness of his heart? Is that what you are saying?"

L scoffed bitterly. "The only thing that man was thinking of was securing a bride for his only son of good bloodline and pure breeding stock. My parents sold me because they were destitute nobility and Odin was known to have full pockets. The fact that I turned out to be a boy must have burned him something awful."

The truck screeched to a half in the middle of the road, yanking L against the seatbelt and making him grunt with pain. Theo was still and silent next to him.

"What the fuck, man? " L gasped, pressing a hand to his, no doubt bruised chest.

"Take it back," the blond's voice was low and filled with anger. He looked up at L, his blue eyes filled with rage. "You take that back about my father."

L sat back in the trucked heated seat with a sigh. "Whatever, Goldenrod. Let's just get to the house."

"No," Theo growled. "You take back those lies about my father. 

L rolled his eyes. "Why should I? it's the truth."

"And what would you know about the truth?… Loki" Theo's eyes were flinty as he drug up the childhood nickname from when they role played as kids.

L scowled, flushing pale. "You know I hate it when you call me that… Thor"

"I don't know Loki. The name suits you. You are a dirty, rotten liar and you poison everything with your hateful words. Liesmith. Silvertongue. They all suit you perfectly." the blond spat at him. 

L bristled with rage. "So you are telling me that if I'd been a girl that I wouldn't be barefoot and pregnant, just waiting for my big strong viking to come home like Frigga does?"

Theo snarled, "You keep my blessed mother's name off your forked tongue. Father was right. Maybe that's why you tried to rape me that day. So that you could corrupt me like you were corrupted. "

L gaped, aghast. "What? I was twelve years old and weighed a hundred pounds soaking wet. You were pushing 180. How could I have raped you? All I did was kiss you…"

"It's in your blood. All that unnatural freakiness." 

"And you kissed me back." L shouted, trying to blot out the blond's hurtful words. "You fucking kissed me back, you asshole."

But Theo just went on "That’s why your parents were so eager to get rid of you. They knew what you were…" 

"And when Frigga walked in on us, you pushed me away and told them I forced myself on you. They sent me away to boarding school halfway across the goddammed country. I was only a child and they sent me away. Because of you."

"Deceiver. Sly One. Who would want someone like you near them anyway? Wizard of Lies."

"You are the one who lied. You are the Nehebkau. The two faced one. I loved you and you betrayed me." 

"What?' Theo froze, a look of horror on his paling face.

L was mortified to feel hot tears running down his cheeks and he shakily wiped them away with his sleeve. "I loved you." he sobbed, trying to draw breath. "I was twelve years old and the only truth that mattered was that I loved you."

"Laurie…" Theo reached for him, all of his previous anger gone.

"No. fuck you." L jerked away, struggling to release his seat belt. "You don't get to rip me apart and then try to touch me. You are a fucking bastard, Theodore Osvald. Just like your father before you."

He slammed out of the truck and stomped off the freshly plowed road and into the forest, tugging his jacket closer and regretting that he'd left his knitted cap on the seat of the truck. His tears froze as they fell, stinging his cheeks and in the distance he could hear the truck's door slam. He quickened his pace, not caring where he was going as long as it was away from Theo.

God, he fucking hated that idiot. To think that for years, even after he'd been sent away, he'd have given anything to be the moon to Theo's sun. How he'd cried and wished on a thousand stars that he had been born a girl so that Theo would love him back. At least Odin would have married them off by the time Theo turned eighteen. 

It had taken him a long time, more than a few drinks and trips to the therapist to get him to realize how blind that love had made him. How in the eight years he'd spent at Asgard House, he'd been carefully groomed to be whatever Theo would have needed him to be. A best friend, a companion, a second, a convenient hole to fuck while daddy looked for a more suitable bride.

He'd been left disgusted and angry. Both at Odin and Frigga. And with himself. He'd been so weak, so trusting. He'd wanted a family so badly that he'd clung to them, hungry and needy for what little affection they chose to let eek out. 

Theo had been different. Or so he'd thought. The blond had been sunshine and life, pulling the shy Lawrence out into the great big world with him. Taking his love and wrapping it around L's shoulders like a warm cloak. He'd been so easy to love, so worthy of devotion. It was no wonder that L had fallen hard and fast.

One day, after an exciting foot race around the neighborhood, they'd collapsed into the soft sweet summer grass and he had't been able to help himself. He'd been filled to bust with joy and love for the laughing boy beside him so he'd leaned over and pressed a chaste kiss to Theo's lips. The blond had frozen for just a moment before kissing back and L's heart had soared. That was the moment Frigga had walked upon and it had been his last happy, sun filled day for a long time. 

He shook the memory away, hugging himself tighter as he slogged along through the snow. He could hear Theo calling his name but he huffed and ignored it, his anger at the other man still ablaze in side of him. How dare he use their childhood game against him? How dare he insinuate that L's parents had hated him and wanted to send him far away? How dare he take the very same secret doubts and fears whispered against a tear stained pillow so many years ago and use them to cut him so deeply?

How dare he break his already broken heart again?

A hand came out of nowhere and grabbed his arm. L flinched back, wresting his arm from the firm grip and stumbling back.

"Laurie…" Theo looked like a kicked puppy but L snarled in the face of it. 

"I told you not to touch me you fool."

"Look I'm sorry…" 

L scoffed bitterly. "Are you really? I've heard your 'sorrys' before. They fall off your lips a thousand times over but you never mean any of them."

"I do…" Theo's irritation spiked through his farce of contrition.

L slashed a hand through the air, cutting the blond off mid-sentence. "How many times have I heard you apologize to your mother then turn around and do the stupid thing again? Tell me Thor. How many times will she just forgive and forget? You don’t even know what it's like to feel sorry, to seek forgiveness. Everything you want is just handed to you. Because you are the golden one, the prince of the realm and whatever Thor wants, Thor gets… nothing and no one else matters."

"Please stop calling me that." Thor scowled, his apparent apology forgotten.

"You had no problem calling me Loki. I thought I'd return the favour." L barked a bitter laugh. "So much for your sorry. Where is it now?"

"Loki… uh Laurie" Theo stumbled and L huffed in utter disgust. 

"Go to hell, Theo." he sneered and turned away. 

Within one step and the next, his foot stepped on ground that wasn’t there and he fell with a terrified shriek. He could hear Theo screaming for him as the loose snow tumbled with him down the hidden embankment. He landed at the bottom with a painful oof, dazed and confused by the tumble. Skidding snow right next to him alerted him of Theo's arrival.

"Are you all right?" Theo gasped, trying to feel L's lanky frame for any broken bones. 

"I'm not hurt, you idiot." The slimmer man shook him off roughly. "And if I was, how are we supposed to get out of here and get to help if you just throw yourself down here with me. Your fucking truck has a hauling feature for this precise purpose, you numbskull."

Theo had the decency to look abashed, avoiding L's glare as his already cold flushed cheeks pinked further. L exhaled heavily in irritation and shook the snow of his arms and legs. Standing wasn't easy but he made his way to his own two feet in good time. Theo was staring at something further down the embankment and as L stood, he pointed it out.

"Look at that." he grinned with barely concealed excitement. "Is that a meteor?"

L scowled, so much for getting an apology now. He looked to where Theo was pointing and squinted at the strange rock formation. "I'm not sure. We may have to get closer."

"Ok. Sure" Theo nodded and started to skid further down. L snarled at his stupid idiotic back.

"I said 'MAY', you dingus. 'fucking MAY'. I didn't say skid down the dangerous snow covered embankment without a second thought. Dumbass."

He muttered a few more curses before carefully sliding down the bank to where the blond stood. Up close the strange rock really did look like a meteor. Its surface was unlike anything L had ever seen and it must have been a trick of the eye because it seemed to glow from the inside. He quickly slapped Theo's hand away from where it was trying to poke the rock with a twig.

"Are you mad?" he gaped "You can't just poke the thing with a fucking stick. Didn't you pay attention to anything in science class."

Theo shrugged, "I did the one with the frog."

L paused, not sure if the blond was joking or being serious. Neither option was good for his mental health so he just ignored it and looked back at the strange glowing rock. 

"We need to take a sample. Do you have anything we can use to extract a piece from it?"

Theo lifted the stick. 

L bit back a few choice curse words and swiped the twig from the smirking blonde. He turned back towards the rock and bent to have a closer look. Finding a patch that looked fairly …gooey, he carefully scraped the rough edge of the twig through the goo filled crevice. 

Suddenly, Theo's voice was in his ear. "Boo!" and L jumped up with a screech, twirling around to beat the bigger man about the chest.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" he yelled at the laughing blond, "Are you insane? You scared me half to death and could have seriously damaged the probably millions of years old meteor rock behind me. God, you can be such an idiot." 

He looked up at the blonde only to find him staring strangely at something behind L's back. Turning slowly, L looked down at the strange rock and saw it bleeding weird blue and glowing goo from the gouge left by the sharp twig.

The goo gurgled loudly as another large globule swelled and popped, spattering blue glowing goo on both their pants and boots. The glow at the centre of the meteor seemed to be getting brighter and L only had time for a panicked "Oh Shit" before the rock cracked open and everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

He was okay.

It's the first thing that came to mind when he woke up. And, for some reason, neither his mind nor his body refuted the bold claim. He wasn't exactly sure what had happened or what was going on right now but he hadn't aced sciences from middle school straight up to college without learning a thing or two.

So… fact, his clothes were damp. Fact, he was lying in a pile of churned snow. Fact, despite this predicament, he's didn't seem to be experiencing any pain or discomfort. Fact, He wasn't even cold.

Wait. 

That stopped him short. How was he not cold? He was half buried in snow and from the light snowfall coming from the moonlit night sky and the fresh layer of snowflakes over his body, he'd been there for some time.

Yet, despite his disinclination towards anything less that balmy, he didn't feel cold at all. A panicked thought hit him. God, what if he was suffering from hypothermia and was minutes from death? That was the only explanation that he could find that leant to the 'being warm while lying in snow' situation. 

He quickly pulled up a mental list of the symptoms. Being adverse to anything remotely brumal, he'd memorized the symptoms of any and all cold related afflictions a long time ago. He quickly reviewed the list in his head.

He wasn't shivering but that wasn't exactly good news. Maybe he was past that state was already onto the 'impending corpsicle' stage. He absently rattled off a verse of his favourite poem. Ok, His speech wasn't slurred. He wasn't breathing shallowly, now was his pulse weak. He didn't feel drowsy or confused but he did seem to have some short term memory loss. Specifically the reason why he'd been lying in a snow bank for god knows how long.

He pushed himself up into a sitting position fairly easily. That ruled out lethargy. It was looking more and more like Hypothermia may not be the foregone conclusion of this conundrum. Still though, he was warm and unhurt and he wasn't sure why.

The last thing he'd remembered was waiting at the station with it's stupid stuck open door, frigid cutting wind and half dead ticket clerk. He'd been waiting for the idiot to arrive. 

He remembered the stupid red truck, the hockey decal. The horrible screaming match and the flight into the woods. The rage and the heartbreak. Slipping and falling and the strange rock he'd poked with a stick he'd swiped from….

Theo. Shit, Theo had been right there with him. 

L looked around, scanning the snow scape by the light of a silvery moon; looking for a scrap of colour against the white. An odd human shape against the ones found in nature. His eyes caught on a large dark patch, black and ragged against the soft, stark white.

It looked like the sight of an explosion, long black finger-like tendrils scratched out of the snow. In the middle was a patch that had been scraped clean clear down to the dirt it seemed. In the middle of the patch lay a figure, all too frighteningly familiar.

"Theo" he whispered, quickly pushing himself to his feet and stumbling towards the fallen figure. As he got closer, the black marks started looking like scorch marks, the bare patch of ground looking cracked and petrified. It looked a lot like a lightning strike but as he looked up at the sky, it was utterly cloudless.

He fell to his knees beside the body, making a noise of distress. Theo's clothes were burned black and crackling off in brittle bits and pieces. They looked like charcoal in the moonlight, almost blue black. L recognized bits of grey sweater, the red puffer jacket Theo adored and wore everywhere, the curled up rubber from the soles of his boots.

Theo himself seemed unhurt, his pale skin remarkable unmarked as the scraps of charred cloth continued to slough off his frame. L checked his pulse, it was strong and steady; and he breathed a sigh of relief. The blond may have been an idiot and an asshole, especially today, but L didn't want to see him hurt or killed. 

In his most hidden heart of hearts he still loved the buffoon. Not that he would ever, ever admit that to another living soul. Or a dead one. But heartbreaking and abiding love aside, he still hated the fact that Theo seemed to mirror most of Odin's more unfortunate predispositions.

The blonde barrel chest rose and fell with each steady breath, his face relaxed and looking pain free, if albeit smudged and soot covered. His hair stood on end and looked almost luminescent in the moonlight. It added to the 'struck by lightning' theory but yet there was no evidence of clouds. 

Maybe it had been a rogue strike. L had heard stories of such but all of them had some kind of cloud sign. He looked up at the sky again and wondered if any clouds had been there before but had been blown away. Maybe the strike came from the strange rock. He remembered it glowing brightly before everything went pear shaped. Maybe that was the answer.

He looked over to where the rock had been. Well, where he believed it had been. The whole place was covered in churned snow, no sign of the strange glowing rock or any of its pieces. L let a worried frown settle on his face for a moment before determinately pushing it away. 

Now was not the time for letting his emotions rule him. He needed to concentrate. He needed to get both him and the naked blond laying before him up a steep incline, across a patch of woods, into the red pick-up truck and back to Asgard House before he could lock himself into his old room now guest bedroom, draw a hot bath and let himself go to town with the feels.

He turned back to study the prone form before him and found himself staring into bright blue eyes. He let out a startled shriek and flinched back but Theo didn't even blink. 

"Theo" he said softly, reaching out to touch his fingertips to the other man's skin. "Theo… Can you hear me? Say something. Are you hurt anywhere?"

The blond flinched at the touch, making a wounded sound and L yanked his hand away. They stared at each other, shared fear in their eyes; their breaths clouding in the chill night air. Theo blinked and moved his lips, no sound coming from them as his eyes stared into L's. 

L leaned forward a bit, pulling back once more as Theo's eyes tracked his movement with a wild look in his eyes. The slimmer youth held up his hands in a show of surrender. 

"Theo?" he coaxed, "I need to get you back to the truck and to the hospital, okay? But in order to do that I need to know if you are hurt anywhere like your head or your spine. I don't want to move you if it's going to cause more damage. Can you understand what I'm saying?"

After a moment of more silent lip movement, the blond gave a minute nod. L, exhaled heavily. Thank God there seemed to be no overt brain damage. He tried to nod reassuringly but from the fear still in those blue eyes, he felt that he wasn't too convincing.

Through a series of blink once for yes, two for no questions, they'd determined that Theo wasn't in any actual pain but that he seems to just be unable to move.

Taking a deep breath and saying out loud every move he intended to make, L got himself situated at Theo's shoulder and began to help the prone man sit up. Bracing his hands on the broad shoulders, he lifted the blond to sit upright; grunting in surprise when it turned out much easier than he had anticipated. 

In fact, it had been so easy, he'd over compensated and had nearly had Theo bent over double. The blonde let out a pained wheeze as L apologized profusely. 

"Shit, shit, shit, sorry, sorry. Shit" he hissed as he quickly steadied the blond. "Thought you'd be way heavier. My bad."

Theo seemed to have enough eye control to give him a flat stare and L chortled at the put upon look. He shrugged easily and gave a small sigh.

"At least it will make getting your bulk up two embankments and back to the truck. Through thick snow fall. At night."

Theo gave him a narrow stare in reply.

L curled his lip, "Don't make this all my fault. You had a part to play too Mr. Let's-poke-the-strange-rock-with-a-stick."

The blonde looked down in acquiescence. if he could have moved a muscle, he probably would have shrugged. L huffed and took a moment to work out the logistics of getting the other man back to the road and to safety. And clothes. Definitely clothes.

He'd been trying not to stare but he'd gotten more than a few eyefuls. He thought about a fireman's carry but put it on the back burner because one- Theo was huge and two- he was decidedly naked. 

Yeah… that naked stuff was an awkward problem. 

Finally he decided to just have the larger man draped across his back like an old fridge, arms over L's shoulders. It was so fucking weird having Theo's naked body pressed up against his back but there was nothing for it but to pretend it didn't really matter.

God, this fool was a damn heavy son of a bitch. Shit.

L grunted with the effort, adjusting Theo's tall frame better on his back with a heave before making his way step by step up the incline. He could hear the blond's hitched breaths against the back of his ear, mixed with his own strained ones.

Theo was taller than L by half a foot so his feet dragged against the ground like dead weight. Thank goodness the ground was covered in snow and L didn't have to worry about cutting up Theo's feet on the forest floor.

He stopped, bending over almost in half to take Theo's weight before readjusting his grip on the blond's arms. When he was sure that his grip wouldn't slip again, he straightened up and started walking again.

The journey was tedious, with L having to stop several times; either to rest or to adjust his grip. Soon enough, he'd been too breathless to even curse the larger man out loud; instead running a mental litany of unfavorable elocutions about Theo, his parentage and entire family line back to the beginning; impressing even himself with some of his compositions.

Finally, through the trees, he could see a light. The truck's headlights were still shining, the vehicle itself half off the road where Theo had left it. Miraculously, the battery hadn't died, leading L to believe that they hadn't been in the forest for that long.

He wanted to stop and rest one last time but he knew that if he put the blond down now, he wouldn't have the strength to get his hulking frame into the truck's cab.

It took some maneuvering, some really awkward groping and way more full frontal than anyone wanted but they eventually got the blonde situated in the wide back seat. L found a blanket in the lock box on the truck bed and wrapped the now twitching blond. 

Now that the larger man was warming up from the blanket and the truck's heater, his muscled seemed to be coming back to life. L started rubbing his limbs underneath the blanket, trying to speed up the warming and get the blood circulated. 

When Theo's paled skin started taking on colour and he was able to move his head; L hopped into the driver's seat. He took a moment to slump back unto the thankfully heated seat and let his eyes fall closed. 

He was exhausted and emotionally drained. Every moment since he'd stepped off the bus and back into his 'hometown' had been somewhat of a trial. He was still mad at Theo for his thoughtless words but he was also scared for the blond. 

All sings still pointed to a lightning strike but Theo seemed unharmed. Then there was the strange glowing rock that seemed to have vanished altogether.

Taking a deep breath, he adjusted the seats and carefully turned the ignition. The truck started smoothly and they both gave heavy sighs of relief. There had been a fear of the battery being too depleted with the lights and heat running all during their naptime in the woods.

He hadn't driven a car in a while, being a fan of public transportation so he took a moment to inspect all the bits and bobs. Theo made a wounded noise from the back seat and L scoffed and absently waved his concerns away.

"Fuck you asshole. I remember how to drive. Just give me a minute okay? This thing is like a damned space ship. Who designed this shit… NASA?"

Then, after flickering the fog lights, working the wipers and turning on the hazard lights, he put the truck into gear and. Exchanging a look with the man in the back seat, L carefully turned towards the hospital and took off slowly down the snow dusted road.

The hospital's ER was semi deserted due to the time of night and the icy roads but the head nurse recognized Theo and got them admitted pretty quickly. L explained away Theo's nudity and partial paralysis with a compelling story of boys being boys and the blond taking a tumble into any icy pond.

The woman gave him a long, lingering look before turning at Theo, who confirmed with a nod. She still looked like she didn't believe either of them but it didn't stop her from bundling them both off to separate ER docks.

They gave him a set of scrubs to change into, bagging his wet clothes in a crumpled bag by his side. The doctor was a serious young woman, who gave him a perfunctory checking over and pronounced him 'a little damp around the edges but perfectly serviceable moron for goofing off around thin ice.'

Apparently his little excuse had spread like gossip usually did in a town this small and Theo being the hockey star he was. The news was bound to move fast. He just wondered how fast it would be before word got back to Asgard House. He'd already recognized the head nurse as one of Frigga's closest friends, no doubt the woman had already been on the phone to Theo's mother.

With his crumpled bag of clothes in his lap, a cooling cup of watery tea warming his hands; he sat in one of the comfy waiting room chairs and waited for someone to turn up. 

He lamented the loss of his phone. It had been ruined by the melting snow. Theo's had been burnt to a pile of crispy circuits but he'd told the hospital staff that it had fallen into the water.

It didn't take long for Frigga to come bustling into the hospital with her set curls and brightly coloured knitted holiday sweater. The head nurse hustled her off to see Theo, leaving Odin striding along behind. 

For a minute L thought that the man was going to pass him by completely but sadly, that was not the case. The man paused, clad in his long sweeping winter coat, slicked back white hair and cold grey eyes.

If looks could kill, L would be a smoking crater in the ground. The pause only lasted a second before the man was striding through the swinging doors that led him to his son.

L slumped in his chair and let out a put upon sigh. Yeah, that did not bode well. A silent Odin was much worse than an angry one. And this was just the first night. He had three more days with these people.

Joy 

He let his head drop unto the back of the chair and let his eyes fall closed with a groan. He was not looking forward to this.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Warning for Emotional and Verbal Abuse. Odin is a real dick.**

It was the wee hours of the morning by the time they got back to Asgard House and L was exhausted. Mentally, emotionally and physically. The Sheriff had been called in to talk to both boys and since Theo had been laying a-bed like a wilting flower under his parent's doting attention, it had left L, hungry, cranky and on his own with the police.

The Sheriff was one of Odin's cronies and shared his dislike for L and his strange ways. He'd grilled L pretty thoroughly, noting every answer with barely disguised doubt. Finally, blessedly, one of the nurses took note of the young man's sagging posture and told the sheriff to knock it off. 

The older man had puffed up his chest, ready to put up one hell of a fight when the petite nurse had given him a sharp look that had him deflating and backing off. She'd then supplied L with a juice box and a chewy granola bar to bring up his blood sugar.

After a few hours of the doctors on call scratching their heads over Theo's surprisingly healthy constitution after falling into a frozen lake; they let Frigga bundle him up and take her son home. L, who'd been sleeping on the waiting room couch, had been jerked awake by a sharp nudge and tossed the keys to Theo's truck.

He'd followed the luxury town car back to the house, rubbing sleep put of his eyes and yawning continuously. He pulled the truck in carefully next to the Frigga's SUV and the Indian Chieftain Dark Horse Motorcycle that Odin had lovingly restored himself and called Sleipnir. 

He retrieved his luggage from the tray, hauling the hard cover case into the house with a grunt, making sure to lock the doors behind him. The kitchen was golden warm with the smell of dinner still lingering. Signs of dishes half prepared and hastily put away littered Frigga's usually pristine kitchen, evidence of their rush to the hospital. 

L's stomach growled loudly in the empty room, so after shucking his coat; he cut a large piece of casserole from a dish in the fridge and stuck it in the microwave. Sitting at the kitchen bar, he promptly demolished the food and went for seconds. It was only after his third large helping that he'd realized that he'd eaten almost the whole dish.

He stared at the thing in dumb disbelief, mouth stuffed with baked cheese and veggies as he slowly chewed. He'd always been a picky eater, Frigga always lamenting since he was a child that he ate like a bird. Even in college, where he'd fallen head over heels for all sorts of TexMex delicacies, he'd always eaten in half portions if so much in one sitting.

Deciding that he was just too tired to think about this sudden change in eating habits, he ate the last piece of casserole straight from the dish with a fork before drinking a half gallon of milk because he was so thirsty. Wiping milk from his mouth with the sleeve of his scrubs, he put the dish to soak and tossed the empty bottle in the trash. 

Grabbing his case, he dragged his feet towards the guest room, looking at the great staircase before him with pained expression on his face. God, he wished Odin had put in that elevator he'd been waxing poetical about. L felt like fucking Sisyphus looking up at that damned hill. 

He felt bone tired and completely wrung out. It had been such a long day. His suitcase thumped up the stairs behind him, one at a time until he finally reached the landing. He could hear Frigga and Theo talking in his room, their voices muffled behind the large double doors. 

His room lay at the very end of the long hallway. It was more of a guest bedroom because he hadn't lived there permanently for almost a decade. It was just the room he usually stayed in whenever he visited. 

The door stood ajar and L paused, staring at the thin sliver of light coming from within. He gave a long suffering sigh, already dreading what awaited. He didn't really want to do any of this right now but the 'All-Father' was never one to obey another's will.

Odin Osvald was a bastard. Had always been a bastard. But he'd been the only father figure L had really remembered having and loving the man despite his blatant lack of reciprocation of care had fucked up L's mental state for a long time.

That fateful first day L had shown up at their door with his Sunday best shirt and pants, his thin shoes polished until they gleamed. His cheap paper suitcase with all his worldly possessions and a small satchel of paperwork from the lawyers office clutched in his tiny hands

He'd stood in the foyer of the great house, eyes wide with wonder, having travelled the longest and furthest he'd ever gone from home. The woman who'd travelled with him had explained a little about where he was going and what was expected of him. How his parents had decided to what was best and how much he needed to be a good and obedient little boy for his new family.

Too bad nobody had told him that they'd been expecting a little girl.

Taking a deep, fortifying breath, L stepped into the guestroom; placing his case next to the closet door and shrugging off his jacket. Odin was standing near the far window, looking out unto the swirling snow; his long, high collared, coat painting him a swath of black in the brightly decorated room. The night beyond was just as black and seemed to shrink the world down to these four paisley covered walls.

They both stood in chilly silence for a long moment, the only sound was that of the wind howling outside the window. Eventually L rolled his eyes and sagged unto the bed, picking at the loose threads of his aquamarine scrub pants. There was no rushing the old man when he was in a mood.

And he was always in a mood. 

He hated the waiting. It never failed to make him feel like a child caught in the act and brought to the principal's office. He felt his skin start to flush as he succeeded in pulling a long snag in the cheap cotton pants.

A throat cleared and his head whipped up to see cold grey eyes staring back at him, colder that the frozen landscape that lay outside the window. 

"Do you really hate your brother so much that you would deliberately put his life in danger? What were you thinking running out onto the ice like that? Making Theodore chase after you… falling into the water while trying to save your life. He could have been killed."

"Unfortunately I'm not that surprised that you would try to work your mischief on him." He shook his head in disgust. "All because over some foolish childhood nonsense so many years ago."

L blinked up at the silver haired man, jaw clenched to keep it from dropping. He bit down savagely on all the things he wanted to spit out, clutching the cotton of his pants in tights fists. He finally settled on a slight smirk which never failed to irritate the older man.

"So… Theo told you the whole story eh?" he quirked a sharp eyebrow, "I see… so what did my 'Brother' have to say about what happened. I'm curious to find out the truth according to the golden one. "

"As compared to what… your truth?" Odin scoffed. "You, who lies like he breathes? Why would my son find himself in such a perilous situation unless you orchestrated it?"

Loki rolled his eyes, "Yes, because Theo isn't known for being a reckless, thoughtless, brutish oaf who is only concerned with chasing the next laugh, the next skirt or the next wild party."

"Be silent, trickster." the man snarled, making L flinch back on the bed. "You will not smear my son's good name with your petty resentments. If it were up to me you would have never been welcomed back into this house. My dear wife's heart is much too soft for her own good."

He stepped closer, looming over L, his gloved hands coming out from where they'd been tucked in his coat pockets. L's breath hitched as he leaned back, his eyes meeting Odin's defiantly.

"Well, it’s a good thing you don't have to deal with me much longer. After these next few days I'm gone for good."

"And Good Riddance it will truly be. Ever since you darkened our doorstep like some dirty mongrel, you've been nothing but a blot on our golden halls. A worm rotting in the bud. A corruption that seeks to spread and make others like unto yourself."

He slowly took off one glove, pulling it off finger by finger, revealing ornate golden rings, each carved with intricate runes and old alma mater crests. 

"You tried to tarnish my son with your pestilence years ago and now you try again to ruin him." The other glove revealed a hand, old and lined with faded black tattoos, the only sign of Odin's past before he came to America. 

L kept himself still, fighting the fine tremble that wanted to creep up his limbs and into his racing heart. Odin's voice was low and steady, terrifying in the stifling silence of the room, the wind beating uselessly against the window. 

He tried to rally his courage, his voice still breaking as he lifted his chin valiantly. "You actually think I'd try to kill Theo? You're delusional."

Grey eyes narrowed and the Odin's hands clenched into fists. "And risk being arrested and thrown in prison? No, you are much too devious for that. I think you meant to injure him. To ruin his athletic career. To cripple him enough so that he would be less than a man. Less than…"

"A son of Odin?" L finished for him, a mirthless grin stretched across his pale face, "… because no son of yours would have value if he appeared as less than the strongest… the best… the golden one . Only the bravest and shiniest of warriors could be worthy of being called Odinson."

"Shut up, fiend." Odin roared, raising a hand. L scrambled back across the bed, pressing up against the wall in a crouch as he watched the other man warily. The silver haired man froze, his arm still raised, rage turning his eyes almost silver in the lamp light.

"DO NOT dare to mock our family history and the line of our ancestors, pure and true going straight back to the land of our fathers and fore fathers, you miserable wretch. You, who are nothing, who came from nothing. Who had nothing but weak blood and an worthless family name and empty title from a long forgotten royalty."

L trembled, tucking himself tighter against the corner as the older man spoke, hot tears spilling from his eyes helplessly and running down his numb cheeks.

"Worthless slag. Not worth the pittance we paid for you. Your weak bellied father and whore mother were all too happy to sell you away. Parcel you off, bag in hand, for a few baubles. You get your false tongue from them, passed down through polluted blood."

"They lied to us as well. Deceivers. Tricksters. Your whole family." Odin's rings flashed as he gestured with his clenched fist. "Promising us a girl child worthy to make my son a wife. Sending a boy instead. Some kind of Changeling. As strange and unnatural as I have ever seen. I will not suffer such an abomination in my house."

A calm came over the older man and for some reason it made L more afraid than when the man had been full of anger. 

"You will leave this house in the morning." Odin looked at him in open disdain. "… and never darken our door again. We are done with you, do you hear? You are nothing to us. Less than nothing."

He swept out of the room, black coat billowing behind him as he slammed the door closed. The remaining silence seemed deafening, pressing heavily down on the young man left behind.

L clamped his hands over his mouth, desperate to muffle the sobs that wanted to well up in his throat. He dove off the bed, rushing to the door and slamming the lock closed; his hands barely holding still enough for him to do so. He scrambled back across the floor and tucked himself between the bed and the dresser, squeezing his thin frame into the small space.

Pressing his face into the homemade, quilted bed covers; he started to cry heavily, his chest squeezing as he sobbed. He clenched his fists in the soft bedding, holding on for dear life as he came apart. 

To hear Theo's words from earlier repeated to him so bluntly, so cruelly, was like being stabbed in the heart, each word a sharp blade slicing into his vulnerable flesh. Odin had never concealed his dislike and disappointment throughout the years but he'd never been so utterly ruthless before. 

He'd ripped L apart. Flayed him with his tongue and his words. Knowing just what to say to break down L's defenses and cut deep into the heart of him. He'd cracked open his ribs one by one and reached into his chest, squeezing his lungs and ripping into his stomach.

It had been one thing to want to leave on his own and never come back, it was quite another to be told to get out, to be told 'Be gone'. It hadn't been him doing the rejecting. He hadn't been reclaiming his self-worth, his self-love, his self-respect. 

It was being tossed aside, thrown away like so much worthless trash. It was being told that he was lower than the muck of the earth and worth even less than that. 

Not that he hadn't always known, deep in his heart of hearts but to have it thrown in his face so blatantly, on top of being so exhausted, his normal defenses had crumbled easily. 

He pressed one fist against his chest, rubbing at the pain from his panicked breathing. It felt as if multiple steel bands were contracting and expanding in different ways around his chest, making him whimper and curl in on himself. 

His skin felt tingly, as if he wasn't a fit for his own skin. His veins felt hot and cold, both burning and freezing from moment to moment. His eyes stung, burning with the salt of his own tears and he squeezed them shut against the bright light of the room.

Pain blossomed in his forehead, radiating from several points along his hairline and down his jaw through his teeth. He muffled a cry in the down comforter, biting down on the fluffy material to stop from biting through his own tongue. 

Suddenly, the pain in his forehead spiked to blinding and he knew no more.


	4. Chapter 4

He woke instantly, wedged awkwardly between the bed and dresser. His neck ached from the angle, throbbing in time with his forehead. He felt hot, itchy and clammy with sweat; his scrub top wrinkled and twisted around his torso. His mouth tasted like dead cat and his eyes were mucky and hard to open. 

He made a sharp sound of discomfort, wriggling out of the tight spot he'd wedged himself into in the night. He winced, stretching out his back and rubbing at his gummed up eyelids. Taking a deep, slow breath, he blinked and finally looked around the room. 

It was still dark, which was strange. He'd been sure, when he'd woken, that the sun had already risen; He could even hear bird song faintly through the windows. He squinted his tired eyes at the window, seeing nothing but black and the faint outline of the curtains.

Doubly strange.

Rolling unto his knees, he pushed himself to his bare feet and shuffled across the room to flick on the light. The bulb flickered on, it's light unnaturally dim in the darkness of the room. L frowned at the light, flicking it on and off until it finally fitzed out and never came back on.

He shambled over to the window, navigating the guestroom in almost pitch blackness. The curtains fluttered, even though the window was shut tight; the glass beyond a solid black, no sign of the woods beyond. He touched the glass, yanking his hand back quickly when the smooth surface rippled slightly.

L froze, his breath stilling in his lungs as well. With some trepidation he touched the smooth surface again, dragging his fingers across the black and watching in stupefaction as it rippled like water, some it clinging to his fingertips.

He brought his fingers closer, rubbing the substance between them. His mind was racing in so many directions, he could do no more than just stare at the ebon material sliding like silk along his fingertips. It was cool to the touch, soft and spongy as he squeezed it gently. It stretched like melted cheese when he spread his fingers apart, gently pulling them back together with a pullback of its own.

L gave a breathless laugh, flicking the goo off his fingers with a sharp flick of the wrist. It let go surprisingly easily, sinking back into the black of the window like it had never been parted. He looked around the room with new eyes, realizing the dark was like a physical thing covering the entire room like some kind of fucked up instagram filter. 

Everything was darker and brighter both, things around the room shifting from blurry to sharp as he focused his eyes. He knew that he should be scared, frightened by this encompassing shadow; but he wasn't. He was calm, cool and collected. The dark seemed neutral, non-combative; as if it were waiting on him to make the first move.

It even felt… comfortable. Welcoming. 

He pressed a hand against the brightly patterned wallpaper Frigga favoured, now muted by the dark. It sunk in, soft as cotton until his hand touched the wall itself. He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he concentrated on the dark. 

On how smooth it was, how soft and giving. How rich the black looked and felt against his skin, how deep and fathomless it could be. As he breathed out again, he felt more than heard the dark give a soft sigh and his hand sank deeper into shadow, going passed his wrist and up to his forearm.

"Oh. Hello there." he spoke softly, his voice full of wonder. 

It was like dipping his arm in water, cool and welcoming. He wanted more. He pressed further, his arm sinking passed the elbow until he was in up to his shoulder. He blinked at the sight, wriggling his fingers and grinning as the shadow twisted around his digits like a playful pet.

He was about to tip his face into the dark when he heard a noise outside of his door. It was Frigga's voice, perky as it ever was in the mornings. After it followed Theo's boisterous baritone. It seemed that the blond idiot was up and about, recovered from his adventure last night.

L sighed wistfully and slowly drew his hand from the shadow; patting it gently. It shivered in response, as if sensing a shift and started pulling away towards the corners of the room; revealing the bright wallpaper. Sliding away to the natural shadows of the room, the dark peeled away from the window; letting in the pale morning light. Soon enough the black silky shadow was gone completely and he was standing very much alone. 

L blinked, shaking his head a bit in disbelief at what just happened. He was even a bit shaken on how much he wasn't shaken at all. Maybe it had been a hallucination, maybe a dream. Maybe he had hit his head sometime in the night and this was the result of the brain damage he'd suffered.

Whatever it was, he was surprisingly cool with it. 

Now that the room was back to normal though, it looked drab and lifeless, even with its bright and cherry walls and handmade quilted bed spread. He glanced around, spotting his suitcase where'd he'd left it last night. It looked unscathed, as if it hadn't been through the same drama he had the night before.

He snorted, at least he wouldn't have to unpack this time. If Odin was serious about L having to leave first thing in the morning, and Odin was always serious; that meant that L needed to be on his way sooner rather than later. He flopped unto the bed, yelping when a sharp pain shot across his hairline. He winced slapping a hand to the area and froze when he encountered something way different than what he'd been expecting. 

First of all, where he was expecting wild and unruly curls, there was pin straight black hair that slid like ebon silk through his fingers. Oh… and his fingers were blue. And had faint patterns on them. 

"Huh" he blinked a bit more as he finger combed the long black locks. He hadn't even felt the weight of it against his back when he'd woken up. Hadn't even observed the coloration of his skin while the room had been drenched in shadow. Everything had taken on a different hue then. 

He forced himself to breathe through his nose, trying to keep calm. This could still have been a dream or hallucination. No need to flip his lid just yet. Tugging at the long black hair and feeling the slight pain at the roots, he slowed his breath and tried to think rationally. 

There was an explanation for this. There was. There must be.

He strode over to the closet, pulling open the door to view the full length mirror on the other side. He gaped, jaw hanging open to reveal slightly fanged teeth. His entire body was blue, not the cold blue of suffocation or death, but a beautiful azure that glimmered in lighter and darker shades all over his body. 

His eyes were a glowing red, and in such contrast against his skin that they looked like rubies. He made a helpless whining noise as his eyes slowly travelled to his hairline. There, erupting from the flowing black hair that tumbled in waves over his shoulders and down his back; were two curved and ridged horns.

They were… well, they were frankly magnificent; protruding out from his forehead then curling back around the crown of his head. His trembling hands touched them gingerly, they were rough to the touch, a blue so dark it looked black. He felt around the base, parting his hair and staring at the where the hard ridge of the horn spread to part of his scalp before transitioning to blue skin.

"What the fuck?" he whispered to himself. "What the actual fuck?" 

He shook his head from side to side, marveling at the how the heavy looking horns were actually very light as his new hair tumbled about his shoulders. He pulled off his scrub top, cursing a bit as the cotton got caught in the curved horns. There was a loud ripping sound when he finally got fed up of the tug of war and the top fluttered to the ground in pieces.

"Fuck me, I'm hot" he murmured to himself, turning this way and that as he studied himself in the mirror. His new blue body was apparently well fit. His lanky torso filling out and rippling with firm muscle. He quickly twisted to the side.

"…. And damn boy… he nodded in approval, "… baby got back"

He ran his hands over his flank, appreciating the view. He was still 80% sure that this was some kind of stress induced hallucination and that he was going to wake up any minute now to his same old room, his same old body.

But fuck if he wasn't going to enjoy this illusion now. He was also not going to think too deeply about why he wasn't freaking out more. He'd had enough of that his whole life. He'd been that anxious, nervous boy with self-esteem and confidence issues for far too long. 

Too many issue following with him from his childhood, clinging to him like spider webs that couldn't be shaken off. He wasn't going to freak out about this though. The blue skin, the fangs, the red eyes, the freaking horns, the rocking bod and the soft, comforting shadow. No matter where this weird dream went, he was going to go with it.

As he stared at his reflection, smiling serenely; his eyes began to flicker, a bright red flame dancing within dark red jewels. The dark he'd found so soft, so comforting began to pool around his feet, creeping up the legs of his scrub pants. He ran idle fingers through the shadow, smile widening as tendrils pulled away from the dark mass to intertwine with them.

A shadow curled in the blue of his palm adorably and he all but cooed at it. It was soft and smooth against him, gently and playful; eager for him to touch and interact with it. It was strange and other worldly and probably extremely dangerous but he loved it already. 

"Hello, my little darling, " he whispered to the little smudge in his palm, chuckling softly as it squirmed and curled on itself with excitement. "You are a peculiar one aren't you. Don't worry, I'm peculiar too." 

The smudge grew and wrapped around his slender blue wrist, solidifying into an intricate black woven band that glimmered in the low light. L touched the fine weave with tender finger tips, humming with appreciation as it squeezed his wrist gently. "For me, darling?, Thank you."

Just then there was a heavy knock on the door, Theo's voice reverberating through the wood. L stilled, the band around his wrist squeezing as the shadows at his feet quivered restlessly. Before L could make another move, the door was thrown open, Theo leaning in with an excited shout, a shock of white hair upon his head and lightning crackling around his closed fist. 

As L stared, shocked, the lightning crackled and sparked around other man's hand; snapping and hissing in the cool morning air. It was incredible to witness, the arching electricity as it slid up and down Theo's hand and forearm. He could feel the heat of it, even from that distance and it made him flinch back, the shadows around his feet retreating.

Meanwhile, Theo's wide smile fell slowly off his face as he stared back at L; the lightning dying down as he dropped his hand to his side. He stood in the doorway, looking dumbstruck as he stared. 

A silence fell, tense, as they continued to stare at each over like idiots. Finally, L managed, "Theo… your hair"

Theo choked on a hysterical laugh, "My hair…. You have horns. Big honkin' horns." 

L blinked in uncertainty, reaching up to feel along the dark blue ridges. "You can see them?"

"Uh uh." Theo nodded, stumbling further into the room. He looked L over slowly, from the tip of his head right down to the shadows still milling at L's feet. "Um… how?"

L shrugged helplessly. "I'm still not sure this isn't some kind of shared hallucination."

Theo shook his head at that, "The Stone… it must have been that strange glowing stone. The one that exploded when you poked with the stick."

"When I poked it?" L growled, the shadows at this feet whipping up restlessly. "I wouldn't have poked it if you hadn't tried to scare me, dumbass."

Theo frowned, lightning sparking along his clenched fists. "Hey, I'm not saying it was your fault, ok"

L gave him a flat ruby stare. "I think that's exactly what you're saying."

"I mean…" the newly ivory blond shrugged, "If you hadn't fallen down the hill, we would never have come across the thing in the first place."

The shadows roiled, "I wouldn't have fallen if you hadn't been chasing me through the damned woods."

Lightning snapped and crackled. "That wouldn't have happened if you hadn't jumped out of the truck and into the fucking woods in the middle of the night like some lunatic."

L made a wordless noise of frustration, eyes burning red as the shadows leapt up the walls of the bedroom. "Yeah… well. Crazy as it may have been, anything was infinitely better than staying in that truck for another moment with you."

Lightning arched along the doorway, leaving scorch marks along Frigga's charming wallpaper; the cherry pattern warping and curling in spots from the intense heat. Theo's eyes flashed white, sparks leaping along his eyelashes. 

L's shadows leapt up in return, whipping about the room in thick tendrils and slaking long strips of cherry wallpaper and leaving the bare drywall beneath. 

The air between them was thick and heavy, light and shadow in a deadly dance around the two men. The guestroom was all but covered in darkness, swallowing the furniture and blocking the light coming in from the window completely. The shadow felt deep, fathomless. A gaping maw ready to devour even the very light.

In the doorway, Theo all but shone like a beacon; bright and blinding. The light radiated heat and power, ready to burn away all before it. Lightning arched off Theo's toned body to the wooden doorway, scorching and cracking the wood there. 

One particularly powerful strike had the wood bursting apart with a loud crack, splinters flying as the frame exploded. Theo flinched, the sharp wooden shards burning to before they could even reach his skin. L also flinched but the shadow rose like a wave and swallowed the shards whole.

A frightened cry came from the hallway and they both stilled for a split second before turning towards the voice. Frigga stood in the hall, a load of laundry dumped at her feet. Her hand was clasped against her cheek, a small trail of blood dripping from beneath her palm from where one of the sharps had nicked her.

Her eyes were wide and terrified as she looked from Theo to L and back again. Her other hand came up to grip the chest of her hand knitted turkey themed sweater, her mouth working but no words coming out.

Theo let the lightning dissipate as L released the shadows, letting them slink back to the corners of the room. 

"Mom?" Theo took a small step towards his mother, raising a hand toward her. L winced at the action, already seeing the way the woman's face paled abruptly and jerked back; bracing himself for the worst.

That was when Frigga screamed.


	5. Chapter 5

As the hysterics in the hall continued, L left Theo to comfort his mother and made his way over to his suit case; sorting through his meagre clothing selection before pulling out a white button down shirt. It was the only thing he had that probably wouldn't snag or tear on his new horns.

He gingerly felt along the ridged appendages, waiting for any sense of unhappiness or unease but all he got was a feeling of being whole, like this was what he was supposed to be all along. It was a bit of a trip actually. He quickly buttoned up the shirt, throwing on a loose hoodie just in case. Given how upset Frigga had seemed, there was a high probability that Odin would totally flip his shit. 

He fastened the suitcase and stood, turning towards the entrance of the room just in time to see Odin rush into view. His first consideration was for his upset wife and the blood still seeping from her cheek. Next it was Theo's shock of white hair and the damage to the wooden doorway. Finally his eyes alit on L's transformation and he exhaled sharply.

"Djevel" he hissed, his cold grey eyes narrowing as he continued to stare. He stepped back, pulling at his wife and son as if that would somehow protect them. "Abomination. Spawn of Hell."

"Pappa" Theo protested, not letting himself be moved, much to his father's consternation. "It's ok. It's still Laurie. He just looks different, that's all." 

Odin gave his son a sharp glance before glaring at L once more. "Come away Son, don't get to close to it. Frigga, call the police, quickly."

L chuckled, making them all look at him. "Don't worry, Mighty All Father…" he gave a mocking smile. "I'm not here to eat your rotten soul or steal your babe from his crib. I'm just going to leave like you told me too last night. Leave and never darken your door again."

"He's not the devil…" Theo grumped.

"You told him to leave?" Frigga gave Odin a mortified look,

The old man huffed and scowled, pushing his wife further behind him and shaking his head. "He's a corruption to this family. He always has been. A poisonous snake, worming his way to the very heart of us. He nearly got Theo killed last night. And now…. Now look at him. A very djevel from the depths of Hel." 

L stepped closer to the doorway, allowing enough light for Frigga to see him even from behind Odin's broad shoulders. He heard her soft surprised 'oh' and saw the tips of her fingers as she covered her gasp. Her clear blue eyes, Theo's eyes' were wide and surprised but not as terrified as L would have thought them to be.

She reached out her hand, still red with the blood from her face and gently tapped her husband on the shoulder. When he wouldn't move an inch, she gave him a severe look and pushed at him more forcefully. Finally, grudgingly, Odin took a small step aside, barely an inch or more. Frigga huffed and stepped around him, waving away his concern with the blood stained handkerchief that she'd been pressing to her cut.

Theo was instantly at her side and she turned to look at him with wide eyes, her fingers touching his white hair and the skin around his glowing silver eyes. "My son… my boy…" she whispered, looking down at his now lightning free hands.

She then looked back at L, holding out one hand towards him despite Odin's verbal protests. "Child… come closer. Let me look at you."

L paused, glancing at Odin who's eyes were as dark as a storm. He glanced back at Frigga who beckoned him with a timid but coaxing smile. Taking a deep breath, he stepped out into the light of the hallway, hands tucked in the pockets of his hoodie. All three in the corridor inhaled sharply and he fought the urge to slump in on himself. Instead, he straightened up and lifted his chin, staring back at them with the quirk of an eyebrow.

"Take a picture. It will last longer."

Odin growled, stepping forward "I will not tolerate such disrespect from you… you demon, you beast of the pits… you…"

"ODIN OSVALD" Frigga's sharp voice rang through the corridor, stopping everyone in their tracks. Her blue eyes were frosty as she glared at her husband. "That's quite enough of that." 

"But Wife…" the silver haired man tried to offset her ire but the woman was having none of it.

"No, Husband. " she raised a hand to silence him. "I've been letting this go on for long enough and frankly it's been as much of my fault as it's been yours that it's gotten this bad. But I won't tolerate it anymore."

She stepped towards L and slowly reached towards his cheek. After a long moment of letting her hand hang there, he touched his cheek to her palm. Her skin was warm against his, a bit rough from housework but soft and giving. He let his eyes fall half closed, not completely trusting himself with the people around him. The comfort of the gesture was a nice one though and he let himself enjoy it.

"Well then, " Frigga smiled and placed her hands on both Theo's and L's shoulders. "Let's all take this downstairs and get this all sorted out shall we?"

Her tone left no room for argument or objection. From anyone. L was kind of impressed.

They settled in the TV room, a well lived in space where Odin and Theo spent their time slouched on the large plush couches and watched sports on the gigantic flat screen television. It was so different from the ornate and spotless parlour that Frigga entertained guests in. L had never been one for sports and had never really felt welcome in the space so being in there was a novel experience for him.

He dropped unto one of the large plush chairs, bouncing slightly as he tucked his feet between the cushion and the chair's arm, making himself comfortable. He took a moment to be thankful that he hadn't grown a tail as well, that would have made life a little too strange and uncomfortable. 

Theo and Frigga settled on the large sectional while Odin took his usual chair. A large leather reclining monstrosity everyone called the Throne. His face was stormy, his grey eyebrows churning on his brow as he clenched his jaw. 

L looked back at him, waiting for the usual self-doubt and resentment to bubble up. Weirdly, it didn't. He still felt it, deep down, but it seemed subdued; watered down. Not as hot and acidic as it used too. He wondered if it was the transformation itself, his changed look and circumstances of if his brain chemistry itself had been changed fundamentally. He even wondered if the glowing, exploding space rock had anything to do with it.

He was brought out of his musings by the sound of Theo speaking, explaining to his parents what really happened the night before. Odin kept leaning forward, grunting as if to interrupt but sharp glances from his wife had him silent and leaning back into the chair. 

After Theo had explained it all, answered his mother's questions and given a small demonstration of his lightning, Frigga had sat back on the couch deep in thought. The silence stretched into minutes as they waited for her to speak, Theo all but fidgeting in place. He'd never been one able to sit still and with the extra juicing up, it was worse than before. He kept looking between his mother, father and L; little sparks of energy flickering along his fingertips. 

Odin on the other hand was as still as a statue, his clenching fingers leaving groves into the leather of the armchair. His grey eyes were thunderous and the lines of his face seemed carved out of granite. He kept sending scorching glared L's way, never lingering though as if he couldn't bear to look upon L for too long before shifting his eyes away.

L relaxed into the chair, taking the opportunity to look inward. The utter lack of emotional upheaval to match his physical upheaval was a concern. He'd undergone such a drastic physical change practically overnight. The fact that he wasn't really upset, angry, afraid or in denial was strange. 

The fact that he had horns, red eyes, frikkin' blue skin, all of it seemed totally acceptable to him. Like this was just the way life was now and he skipped the part where he freaked out or had a panic attack. It was like everything he'd known previously, his whole life from before had been some kind of construct that had been brushed away like so much dried kindling. 

His life in New Mexico, his college education, his friends. It seemed far away, muted somehow. Like a faint, fond memory. He knew that he wouldn't be going back there now, not as he was now, all of that was behind him. Oh, he'd miss his friends, the life he'd been building; but the loss of it all didn't seemed to cut as deep as he'd thought it would.

Frigga's voice pulled him from his musings and he looked up. She was nodding to herself, saying something under her breath as she twisted the blood spotted handkerchief in her hands. Then, nodding sharply once more as if making a decision, she looked up and gave the two young men a comforting smile.

"I must admit that this has been a strange turn of events. A lot has changed in a rather short period of time but what hasn't changed is that we are still a family." she took Theo's hand in her and gave it a squeeze, glancing over at L with a wink and a smile.

L found himself smiling back, more of a quirk of the lips than a true smile though. Frigga might be stepping up to the plate now but that didn't change the fact that she'd been nothing more than a bystander to Odin's horrid behaviour in years past. I was a bit too little too late on the supportive mother figure front but L didn't mind accepting the fleeting comfort and support while it lasted. 

Who knew how long that could be. 

He felt detached from the whole situation, emotionally that is. All the angst and heartache, the anger and resentment, the depression and fear he'd been hording in his heart for so long, all the pain and rejection he'd suffered at the hand of his foster family, from Odin mostly but from Frigga and Theo as well to a lesser degree. They'd certainly never done anything to stop their husband and father before.

He frowned, twirling soft ebony strands around slim, azure fingers. Maybe his brain chemistry really had been affected by his transformation. It certainly would explain the somewhat about turn in his disposition and thought patterns.

Frigga was talking again, about someone she knew; someone who could help. Someone she knew from long ago, someone she'd met back in the old country. She'd give them a call, see if they could come immediately. 

Odin objected to that, loudly; as if all the opinions he'd been holding inside were suddenly spilling out. His voice was strident, vociferous in his protestation. He stood from the recliner, pacing in agitation as he quarreled, spittle flying as he growled and snarled. 

Frigga, on the other hand, never lost her composure; her face smoothing out to an almost unnatural calm in the face of her husband's ire. She loved him, that was the truth of it. Whatever he was as a man, a husband and a father; she'd known and accepted that when she'd agreed to marry him. They'd made their bed together and it was only fair that they should lie in it together. 

There were times when she wanted to kill him, times when she felt disgusted by his ignorant ways, words and deeds. But there was a kind of love there, born and grown and tended through years upon years of marriage. For all of Odin's many faults, he was her choice of a life mate and she appreciated everything he'd done to provide a good life for his family. Besides, she'd laid her lot down next to his for better or worse and she kept true to her word.

That didn't mean that she didn't feel like cold cocking the man upside his thick head once when he got especially bull headed. She finally stood, tucking the handkerchief into the pocket of her pink sweatpants, and faced the silver haired man she'd sworn her life and fealty too.

Between Odin's barking and Frigga's withering comebacks, it was like watching a riveting tennis match. L was fascinated at the back and forth. He'd never seen anything like it in the house of Odin. Usually the man would rant and rave while his wife would shrink into the background with a timid little smile and an offer of a cup of tea after the fact.

He'd frankly been surprised that the woman's voice could go any higher than a simper. To see her go head to head with the raging bull that was Odin Osvald was entertainment for the ages. He glanced over at Theo to see his reaction to the fracas and frowned. Theo was sitting still, not frozen in fear or shock, but still in the way a glass bottle would be with a tornado raging within it. 

Something in L sat up, alert. Theo was glowing, tiny sparks jumping along his fingers and up his forearm, leaving miniscule scorch marks on his clothes. His eyes were flashing silver and his hair was standing on end, as if they'd been brushed with static electricity. There was a fine tremble going through the broad body that had L wary. He glanced at the still squabbling couple then back at their emotional son.

Oh crap, that didn't look good. His mind quailed as he braced his hands against the chair's plush upholstery and eased himself backwards over the arm. Shadows sprang from the corners, deftly catching him and pulling him behind the piece of furniture, enveloping him completely.

The world looked different from beyond the shadow, darker and brighter at the same time. He peeked around the chair's back at Theo, marveling at how the lightning arcing from his hands and eyes took on a blue tinge. The couple arguing hadn't noticed as yet, their shouting drowning out the crackling of lightning as it arched higher, scorching paths the surrounding furniture and plush rug. 

One of the sparks lit a patch of carpet on fire and L quickly snuffed it out with an adorable little curl of darkness. He could feel the heat of the flame as it was died, feeling it starve for oxygen. It was an odd feeling and a fascinating one. He would need to explore the phenomenon further. All he knew for sure at the moment was that the shadow was his friend, companion and protector and that he loved it dearly.

Suddenly, a loud crack rent through the air as Theo lost what was left of his temper. Lightning snapped and whipped around wildly, sending Frigga and Odin scrambling for cover and causing the shadows to surge ever more strongly around L. Frigga screamed as the lightning came near her, the heat of it making her flinch away. Odin was not as lucky as one of the arcs clipped him on the leg, sending him crashing back into the wall.

Theo was screaming, staring at his own hands as if he didn't recognize them. His eyes were filled with fear as he looked around wildly. L shivered as the shadows grew thicker, surging and swelling around him as the lightning burned long jagged tracks along the walls and floor. 

Frigga was laying over Odin, covering his prone form with her own body, her blue eyes wide with terror. She kept screaming Theo's name, telling him to stop but he couldn't. He just couldn't. L could see the boy struggling, see his clothes and the room scorching around him as he tried and failed to pull back on his lightning. 

Another whip of electricity snapped even closer to the older couple and Theo gave a cry of denial and fright. L cursed hotly, making a split decision. He threw out his hands towards Frigga and Odin and the shadows swarmed, covering the two and absorbing any lightning that came its way. 

Satisfied that the two were safe for now, he turned towards the human dynamo. Theo had curled in on himself, pushing into the corner of the room, as far away from his parents as he could get. The walls and floor around him were a wreck, scorched and ripped apart by the force of the electricity pouring from his body.

He wailed as if he were crying but any tears he may have wept would have evaporated from the heat he was emitting. L braced himself, pulling his shadows thick around him and leapt across the room, landing on the bigger man with a painful grunt. 

Even with the shadows thick and nebulous around him, he could feel the power and heat of Theo's lightning. The light coming from the blond was almost blinding, even in the swarming darkness and L could see the arcs of lightning trying to fight their way through the quagmire of shade as if pushing through molasses.

L quickly pushed Theo out of his fetal position and placed his hands on the other man's cheeks, leaning down so that they were face to face. Giving the trembling cheek beneath his palm a squeeze, catching the terrified man's attention.

"Theo… Look at me … Listen to me…" he shouted, his voice echoing through the darkness as if in an immense cave. "You need to listen to my voice and calm down, dumbass."

Wide blue eyes finally tracked to him, shaky and upset. "I hurt them? I killed them? Mom and Dad?"

L shook his head in denial. "No, no, no, they're fine. They're ok. You didn't hurt them. "

Theo shook his head wildly, almost dislodging L's hand. "I saw father fall back. I heard mom scream."

"Listen to me Jackass, and know that I'm telling you the truth. You haven't hurt them." L tightened his grip and forced Theo's face to his with a scowl. "But you will very soon if you insist on continuing the stupid fucking tantrum. So get a fucking grip and stop with the fireworks already!"

He grabbed at bare shoulders, Theo's shirt long ago burnt away; and shook the other man with a huff of frustration. "Come on Theo…. Take a deep breath and calm down."

It took a few long moments of angry whips of light being devoured whole by a ravenous ebony maw before Theo calmed enough to pull the electricity back to a mere trickle that skipped along his fingertips. They both sat in the darkness, their breathing heavy and echoing as they both willed their hearts to stop racing. 

When it seemed that Theo had calmed enough so as not to pose a threat to anyone or himself, L let the shadows recede. As his vision changed from the weird and beautiful shadow sight to the pale winter sunlight of Connecticut, L realized that: one- he was practically sitting in Theo's lap. Second- almost all of Theo's clothes had been burnt away, leaving him in little but rags covering his modesty. Third- most of the TV room was a write off. The walls, the floors, the ceiling, most of the room was utterly wrecked. 

The large TV that was Odin's pride and joy was a smoking wreck, most of the electronics melted to slag. L snorted at the sight, easing off Theo's lap and unto his feet as the rest of the couch was a sorry burnt out skeleton of springs and melted batting.

The shadows pulled back, revealing Frigga and Odin in the far corner of the room. The couple was clutching each other, staring fearfully around as the shadows receded. Odin seemed to have had regained consciousness in the past few minutes though he seemed a bit dazed and confused.

Theo let out a cry of relief, leaping off the couch and stumbling over to his parent. Unfortunately, the last of the burnt shreds of cloth clinging to his muscular body gave up the ghost and fell away like so much ash. L's eyes widened comically before he averted his eyes with a hot blush. 

Frigga made a startled noise, snatching as the singed afghan from Odin's recliner and shoving it at her son. Theo flushed and wrapped the cloth around his waist sheepishly before helping his parents sit up.

Blinking around like a stupefied owl, Odin let himself be hefted to his feet and guided from the room to the kitchen where Theo set him in one of the chairs around the breakfast table. Frigga slumped into the chair next to her husband and rested her head in her hands. She looked a bit frazzled, her silly holiday sweater singed around the edges. Her hair stood on end, fraying wildly out of her set curls. 

Odin was still dazed, though curling to his left; as if he was now starting to feel the burn along his thigh. Theo scuttled around the room like a headless chicken until L got too dizzy from watching him and shoved him off to go get new clothes. He then got two glasses of cool water and some ibuprofin and set them on the table in front of the couple before sitting in the chair opposite. 

As they all waited for Theo to reappear, the kitchen was silent except for Frigga's quick breaths and Odin's soft whimpers of discomfort. L plucked gingerly as his hoodies, pushing a blue fingertip through a burnt hole in the hood. He frowned and checked himself for injuries but thankfully, found none.

Soon enough Theo reappeared, making a beeline for the fridge before coming to the table. He placed a bottle of fresh squeezed orange juice in front of L, it had always been his favourite, before thumping a half gallon bottle of milk on the table. He sat heavily, uncapping the bottle and downing half the liquid before wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his hockey t-shirt. 

L cracked the seal on his own bottle and drained it, suddenly feeling very hungry. As he looked over to where Frigga had laid out the beginnings of breakfast, he heard Theo finally speak. His voice was rough and soft from all the screaming he'd done but he could still be heard clearly in the quiet of the kitchen.

"What happens now?"

Nobody spoke for a while as they all turned that question over in their minds. Finally, Frigga raised her head, taking two of the pills with a large gulp of water. 

"Well…" she muttered, staring at the water as she turned the glass around and around in her hands. "I guess now I call that friend I was talking about."

Odin, looking a lot steadier than before, shifted and grimaced at the pain and nodded.

"Yes… I think that would be a good idea."


	6. Chapter 6

In a moment of clarity and thoughtfulness, Theo ushered his mother upstairs to shower and change, giving the woman some time to gather herself as the woman was no doubt rattled from the mornings events. Odin's burn was treated and wrapped, the man taken to his study and settled unto the couch he kept there to rest.

L, left to his own devices, decided to prepare some food. Both to give him something to do and for the fact that he was so damned hungry. He hadn't even had a sip of coffee before things had gone off the rails so completely. He took in the makings of the meal Frigga had been preparing and decided to just continue. 

Stripping off his hoodie and rolling up his shirt sleeves, he set about making a veritable breakfast feast. Considering how hungry he felt and how much Theo ate before their transformation, he knew that none of the food would go to waste. 

Theo soon returned and sat on of the high stools around the granite topped kitchen island. Wordlessly, L pushed a large mug of coffee and a plate loaded with food in front of him and the man dug in with a soft grunt of thanks. He sniffed at the coffee before making a face and pushing it away, reaching instead for the rest of the milk. 

L took careful note of that as Theo had always loved caffeine. He himself had always drunk the stuff sparingly but he found himself craving the strong, sugary drink today. He mused absently about what other changes in behaviour he and Theo might have gone or might still be going through with their transformation. He would have to look into it further later on. Right now he was only interested in demolishing the breakfast plate before him.

Frigga appeared, accepting her cup of coffee and grabbing a piece of buttered toast, before seating herself next to her son.

"I've made the call. " she murmured with a sigh, tearing her toast apart with nimble fingers, "They're taking the first flight out. They should be here by tonight."

Theo looked worriedly at her, frowning as he chewed his food. He drained the last of the milk, setting aside the empty bottle with a forlorn look and he took his mother's hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. 

"It's going to be okay Mamma." he tried for his usual sunny smile but fell a bit short. "It's all going to be okay, you'll see."

She returned his smile with a watery one of her own and they both turned back to their meals. L watched them from across the island, his red eyes sharp behind the fringe of ebon hair. He wasn't so hopefully optimistic as the other two. He knew that things would never go back to how they were. Not for him at least. Not with how he looked.

Even if Theo could get away with dyeing his hair and controlling his Lightning, he would never be able to live the normal life. Not that the blond would even want that. L was fairly certain that Theo would embrace this new skill with the same enthusiasm as he did everything else in life. He was pretty sure that Frigga knew it too. She was a shrewd enough woman when it came to her one and only son.

Odin, on the other hand, would probably take a while to realize that there would be no more hockey matches, no more varsity, no more exalting his golden boy's achievements at the local country club. No more heir to the Osvald Automotive Empire. It would be a harsh reality for the man to accept, having based his whole life on the kind of legacy he would leave behind. L didn't see that as being an easy pill to swallow for the high and mighty All-father.

As Frigga and Theo puttered around the kitchen around him, cleaning up the breakfast mess and making small talk; L wondered about the supposed 'help' that Frigga had called in. in fact, what kind of people had the woman known in her past who could handle a situation like this. Some secret government agency? Some illicit experimental lab? Some kind of UFO/Alien conspiracy nuts? 

Well, they would know tonight anyway. Until then, there was nothing left to do but spend what might be their last day together. He drained the last of his coffee and looked at the mother and son standing at the sink, their elbows deep in dish soap. They looked happy together, smiling and chatting, bumping gently into each other as they laughed softly.

It was a bittersweet sight. Both beautiful and sad in that, even now, he would never be a part of it. Not truly. And now, he realized, that he never would be. The realization hurt, but he found the truth of the matter easier to swallow and digest than he thought it would be. 

Things were different now, he was different. And belonging to this family wasn't the coveted goal he he'd always held it up to be. The need for Odin's acceptance, Frigga's compassion and Theo's friendship no longer left such a deep cut in his heart anymore and, in a way, he mourned the loss of it. 

The depth of feeling he'd had for so long, the strong emotions that had always swirled within his chest like a twister in his chest, had calmed considerably overnight. In its absence there was an empty and echoing chasm, hollow and waiting to be filled with something, anything else. 

When he looked inside himself now, all he met with was darkness and cold. But then again, considering how welcoming and comforting the darkness and the cold had been to him so far, he wasn't sure that it was such a bad thing after all. At least he was alive, relatively okay and there was a plan in place to get them some help. And for that he was very grateful, whatever the future held. 

"Happy Thanksgiving" he muttered into his coffee cup. 

At the soft words, Theo looked at L over his shoulder with a grin, his silver eyes flashing in the pale sun. "Happy Turkey Day Laurie." 

They end up baking the turkey, making the full spread of thanksgiving dishes. Frigga was like a general, with a bumbling yet enthusiastic Theo and a grumbling and wary L as her army. They spent most of the day cooking, sampling, snacking and laughing; eating most of the food as they prepared it. 

Odin reappeared sometime in the mid-afternoon, still dazed from the pain killers and his wound. They set him up at the kitchen table with a thick seat cushion, some more pills and a bowl of steaming vintergrønsuppe or Winter Vegetable Soup; one of the man's favourite comfort foods from the old country. 

Theo was visibly subdued for a while after his father's appearance but soon rallied, even in the face of the man's sullen disposition. Several sharp looks from Frigga kept the man mostly in line. She had one short, hotly whispered conversation with her husband, her usually expressive blue eyes icy and hard as flint as she gripped his arm like a vice. 

After that the mood picked back up considerably. Theo ended up bringing the couch from Odin's study into the kitchen, along with a couple of the easy chairs from the Frigga's craft room; setting up a comfy space around the fireplace in the kitchen. Odin claimed the couch once more, full of hot soup and pain pills, stretching out and drifting off once more as he healed. 

Frigga and L took the other two chairs, Theo claiming a spot on the rug at his mother's feet. It was an informal a thanksgiving as they'd ever had in the house. This again was bittersweet as it was the most fun L had ever had at the house for thanksgiving and it would probably be the last.

He curled up in the chair, digging into his third helping of pumpkin pie smothered in cream, and let himself just enjoy it all. Frigga was running her hand through Theo's white hair, humming softly through her repertoire of Christmas songs. Theo was all but inhaling the last bit of pie straight from the pan, a can of ready whip next to his hip. Odin was still out cold on the couch and blessedly silent. 

It was nice. And comfortable. And peaceful in a way that he'd never really felt before. Setting his empty plate aside, he slumped against the back of the chair; adjusting his head so that his horns didn't dig uncomfortably into the batting. He sighed when he finally found the sweet spot and let his eyes drift closed. He fell asleep to the sound of Frigga's humming and the low cadence of Theo's laughter.

\------------------------------------------

With nightfall came the ringing of the front door bell. Frigga paled at the sound, swinging wide blue eyes to the two young men before her. They both looked back at her with the same apprehension. After the bell rang again, the woman seemed to steel herself visibly and went to answer it as Theo and L stepped into the formal living room.

Soon enough she was back, accompanied by two men in black suits and coats. The darker man had an eye patch and a scowl while the other man looked like an accountant. They both stopped short at the sight of L and Theo, pausing briefly before stepping further into the room.

Theo sat up straighter in his seat, his eyes flashing silver as he gulped nervously. L, on the other hand, sprawled across his chair, his ruby eyes narrowed as he observed both men's reactions. He barely listened to Frigga making polite small talk, watching the men closely. 

She introduced them as Nicholas Fury and Phillip Coulson, representatives of s special organization that dealt with the unique and the gifted. 

"I met Nick back when I was working in the Foreign Office. Before I even met your father." She chuckled ruefully, "We commiserated over stacks of paperwork."

"Never was good at filling out all those forms like you Freya…" Nick, or Fury nodded with a sharp grin; gesturing to the man next to him. "… that's why I have this one with me now. He loves the stuff." 

The one named Coulson nodded serenely though his eyes were alert and glancing between the room's occupants with keen interest. L blinked slowly, his lips curling as he coaxed a curl of shadow along the edge of the room and under the couch where the men were sitting. Slowly, the tendril crept along the hand woven carpet and brushed against the man's polished shoe. When there was no reaction so the tendril curled up and round Coulson's socked ankle. 

Coulson stilled, his leg flexing slightly under his tailored black pants though his hands remained relaxed in his lap. L was impressed by the man's control. He made the tendril give the ankle a slight squeeze, his lips twitching as the man's eye twitched. Sharp and stead eyes glanced down at the polished shoe then up to meet L's ruby gaze. Coulson raised a subtle enquiring eyebrow, barely a proper facial movement, and gazed steadily at the younger man.

L kept the game up a little longer before finally letting the shadow disperse. He let his lips curl into a smirk and returned the raised eyebrow. Coulson just gave him a flat stare before turning back to the ongoing conversation. Oh yes, L gave a small and wicked grin, he liked this one. 

Fury ran a school out west. A special one for the Enhanced, as he called them. Young men and women who found themselves gifted with unique talents and abilities. It sounded interesting. Sort of fancy. It still sounded like a school for freaks to him but L himself was a freak now so he supposed it was a fitting place to go. It was not like he could ever re-enter normal society again anyway. 

He paused at the thought. Huh. Life as he knew it was well and truly over. Unless the world suddenly recognized people with blue skin, red eyes and large beautiful horns as average citizens, he was in for a life lived in shadows, unseen. 

Suddenly, the calm they'd all been cultivating was disrupted by Odin's appearance. The silver haired man leaned almost dangerously against the doorway, his eyes glazed but still filled with anger. Theo hopped up immediately to steady his father and guide him to a nearby chair, his eyes flashing that tell-tale white that belied his high emotion.

L took a moment to gather some shadows behind his chair, readying himself for whichever way this situation would turn. One never really knew how Odin Osvald would roll in any given circumstance. The man was as unpredictable in his actions and reactions as he was predictable in his actions and reactions being wholly annoying and frustrating.

L studied the room, paying little attention to the man as he ranted, listing to the side and slurring his words as he railed at both the visitors and his wife. It didn't really matter his words, L already knowing that Theo's fate was the only one being discussed. There was no love lost from Odin for L, in fact, he was sure that man would all but throw L at the two men without any prompting; eager to get the young man out of his house and his family's lives.

Theo, on the other hand, was the man's son and heir. Prince among men and Odin's legacy. There was no way that man was letting his son go without a fight. Frigga seemed torn between being upset and angry, trying her best to soothe the savage beast that was her husband. Fury was countering Odin's wild accusations with steadily eroding calm, his voice getting louder and louder as his brow got more creased. 

Theo stood in the middle, trying to calm the entire situation, which, judging from his quickening breaths and the lightening sparking from his fingertips. L gave a put upon sigh and looked at Coulson, who was standing at the ready, arms relaxed at his sides. He looked competent and prepared for anything, which L totally appreciated after the last couple of days. Cool blue eyes me his red ones and L tilted his head towards Theo's sparking fingers. 

Coulson followed the direction and quirked a slight eyebrow at the sight. Glancing back at L, he nodded his understanding; making no move as the shadows swirled around his feet. They quickly pooled at Theo's feet, leaping up his jeans pants until they entwined themselves with the blond's fingers. Theo jumped as they gave him a soft squeeze, glancing down at his hands for a long moment before turning back to look at L. 

The bright of his eyes dulled to normal, the sparks in his palms fading back into his skin. Satisfied that the situation wouldn't turn into a repeat of the TV room, L let his shadows fall loose and fade away. Theo blinked at him for a moment or two before he finally nodded and threw himself into a nearby chair. His large body slumped in the seat, his face solemn as he looked up at the still arguing adults.

"I want to go with them." His clear words brought a silence to the room. Frigga covered her mouth with her hands, sighing deeply and sinking unto the couch. 

Odin sputtered like an idiot. "But son… "

"No pappa…" Theo shook his head resolutely, sitting up straighter. "It's better this way. They can help me."

"We can help you." Odin pleaded, "You don't have to go with them. You're not a freak. Not like him" 

He gestured harshly at L, who gave him a fanged grin that was more like the baring of teeth, and flashed his red eyes. Odin sucked in a sharp breath at the sight. "See… see what I mean. He's a demon. A Djevel spawned from Hell"

Theo jumped to his feet. "Demon or not, he's the only one who can help me with this."

He held up a hand, sparking and crackling with arc of lightning. The blonde shook his head once more. "We've already see the damage I can do. I'd only hurt you if I stayed."

"No, that won't happen again…" Odin refuted, " There won't be a next time… You can control it."

"But I cant." Theo gritted out, "That’s the problem. There will be a next time… I know there will be." the blond's shoulders slumped, his voice breaking with sorrow. "What if I hurt Mom… what if… I kill one of you. That is what lightning does… it kills."

Frigga burst into tears and ran over to clutch her son in her arms. Soon enough, he too began to cry, hugging her back just as tightly. Slowly, Odin went over to embrace them both, a lone tear falling from his defeated grey eyes.

L looked at hem standing there, hugging and crying together then glanced at the two other men in the room. Fury was looking at the small family, a look of sorrow in his single eye. Coulson, on the other hand, was looking back at L as if wondering why the blue skinned youth wasn’t joining in the family group hug. 

L shrugged and flipped his long, black hair before standing smoothly. 

"I'll just go get my things shall I?" he said softly and slipped from the room, leaving them all behind.


	7. Chapter 7

It took over an hour for the Osvalds to complete their tearful good byes. L, who'd never really unpacked from the night before, had simply changed out his hoodie for one of Theo's larger ones. The material was enough to cover his horns and cast a shadow on his face. 

He also snagged one of the fluffy wool infinity scarves that Frigga knitted for the local charity and wrapped it around his neck. It would serve to cover his face for when they finally left the house. It was bright red with a dark red trim, soft against the skin and smelled like the ginger cookies the woman loved to nibble on while she knitted. He took a moment to hold it against his nose and inhale, getting lost in the memories of good times long past.

Setting his hard cover case near the front door, he hung the large jacket over it and made for the kitchen. He was hungry again and didn't know how long their journey would be and what kind of food they had to offer along the way. Poking around in the fridge, he found a tupperware container full of dense, Junk brownies that the men in the Osvald household loved. 

Giving a small noise of pleasure, he snapped the container open and hugged it to his chest. 'Junk' brownies were filled with all manner of nuts, pretzels, caramel candies and marshmallows. They were a bit of a 'junkyard' of desserts, with everything thrown in; heavy and dense and gut-bustingly great. 

Stuffing an entire brownie in his mouth with a wanton moan, he searched around for milk. Huffing as he remembered the way Theo drained the last of it this morning, he managed to dig up some almond milk from the back of the fridge instead.

Nudging the fridge closed with his toe, he turned towards the kitchen island and froze when he saw Odin standing there. The man looked haggard, his silver hair finger combed into some semblance of order; his grey eyes red rimmed and puffy around the edges. The lines on his face looked as if carved in granite and his lips were pressed thin. 

L took his time in chewing the rest of his brownie, meeting the other man's eyes unflinchingly as he opened the milk and took a deep swig. Odin's frown deepened, his hands clenching into fists at his side. L smirked around the mouth of the carton, taking a sort of perverse pleasure in pissing the man off. 

"If you do anything to corrupt my son with your perversion…" he began.

"Oh, get over yourself old man." L rolled his eyes and scoffed loudly, cutting the older man off before he could really get another rant going. "I think that with all that's happened to your 'precious' first born son in the past couple of days, my 'perversion' is probably the least of his worries." 

But don't worry All Daddy… " L grinned and leaned on the kitchen island, "I'm not at all interested in having that sweet golden body all up on this." he gestured to himself with a saucy wink. "Maybe after we both get our new gifts under control, I'll think about taking tall, hot blond round the curves."

Odin gave a strangled, inarticulate growl that was music to L's ears; the man's face darkening as he snarled. He tried to reach over the island, as if to grab at L but the shadows were quicker and sprang up from the corners to grab at his wrists. Odin froze, shocked, as the thick tendrils held his arm in a vice. He jerked back in fright only to have more tendrils spill from the corners and grabbed at his other hand and feet.

The more he struggled, the more the shadows held him fast. L watched, his face neutral, as one of the tendrils stole around Odin's throat and tilted his chin up; keeping him from talking. He continued to watch as the man struggled against the holds, his eyes rolling wildly in his head.

The clearing of a throat caught both of their attentions and they turned as one towards the door. Coulson stood there, impassive as usual, shrewd blue eyes taking in the scene. After a few moments, he looked at L and stated calmly,

"It's time to go."

L stared back at him for a bit then turned back to Odin, waving a lazy hand at the shadows. They receded quickly, causing Odin to stumble a bit. His hands grasped at his own neck, feeling along the flesh as he stared at L numbly. He had a fine tremble to him, and his mouth moved but no words came out.

The red eyed youth tilted his head, taking in the man who'd always been larger than life. He'd always held the man in such awe and fear, always felt so hurt by the man's rejection and at the same time always yearned for his approval and love.

All he saw now was a small and feeble old man, who used fear and machinations to parade himself as a strong and respected pillar of society. Everything he'd built, all the work he'd done to build his legacy. To build a kingdom for Theo to one day inherit. Now all of that had been swept away. Not that Theo might not one day control his powers enough to come home once again, but L saw the chance of that happening was a pretty slim one. 

Look at how the mighty had fallen. 

L shook his head with a soft scoff, snapping the Tupperware container closed and resealing the milk. Holding them both against him, he turned his back on Odin Osvald and left the old man and his crumbling kingdom behind. He winked at Coulson as he passed, grinning at the raised eyebrow he got in return. 

Fury was waiting out in the hall with the others. Theo was snug in his winter coat his mother doing some last minute fussing. Handing the brownies and milk to the blond with a look of dire warning, L shrugged on his own heavy, hooded jacket and pulled up the scarf to cover most of his face. 

The black SUV outside made the situation even more clandestine and L wasted no time in ensconcing himself in the heated backseats. Theo took longer, getting ensnared in another tearful goodbye. Frigga came out to the car with her son, leaving Odin standing in the lit doorway like some old, forgotten monument to the past. 

The blonde came around to L's window, holding out her hand as tears spilled from her eyes. "Take care of yourself, liten stjerne." [little star] she said with a sad smile, " May the future you find elsewhere be more lykkebringende [Luck/Fortune] than what this house brought you. We've done you wrong Lawrence, so wrong my dear. And for that I am truly sorry."

"Maybe one day you can forgive me for me part in it." She bit back a sob when L took his hand in hers and gave it a squeeze. Then, taking one last look at the two young men before her, she turned and walked back to the house where Odin wrapped his arms around her.

L stared at the couple for a moment, not sure how to feel about that little exchange. He stared down at his hands, deep in thought; letting Theo's attempt at small talk with the two men in whose hands they'd placed their trust and future in. 

He thought about Frigga and her words, what seemed to be genuine remorse coming from the woman who's love and motherly affection he'd craved for when he was a frightened and lonely child in a new world. She'd been a dream to him, a golden queen who seemed to share her unconditional love with everyone. Everyone except him of course. 

The Incident ™ had shattered that illusion and the years hence had crushed his childish dreams to dust. The woman may not have taken an active role in breaking L's heart but she'd stood aside and let it happen. Now, with that small show of sorrow just before parting. As far as he was concerned, it was still a bit too little too late. 

Maybe one day he would forgive her. After enough time had passed.

Maybe.

There was a plane waiting at the small airfield. A sharp looking jet that looked utterly out of place in the small town facility. L secured his bag and the brownies, much to the blond's disappointment and followed Fury on to the plane.

It was nice, modern, well kitted out and comfortable; the leather seats soft and buttery. He flopped onto one of them, peeling off his coat and pulling down the scarf. 

"Nice plane…" he looked at Coulson as Theo dropped his large frame into a nearby seat. "… running a school for the enhanced seems to be very lucrative, indeed."

"We get by." Coulson commented, adjusting his suit and pulling out a smart phone. He took the seat across the aisle and began to check his messages. L hummed in response, giving the man another once over before turning to look out the window. 

The takeoff was smooth, with only the tapping of Coulson's phone, the murmur of Fury's voice from the cockpit where he was chatting with the pilot being heard above the thrum of the engines. L let his mind wander, watching the night sky as it sped passed the window. 

After a while he felt the seat dip beside him, Theo's warmth along his side. He waited for the other man to speak, knowing that the blond always took some time to gather his thoughts. 

"Laurie…" Theo began, his voice low and close to L's shoulder. "… what's going to happen to us now?"

"Us…?" L murmured, turning to look at the concerned blonde. "So, it's 'us' now? What was all that about me being a forked tongued, rapist freak?" 

Theo shook his head in denial, his face crumpling. "I didn't mean all of that. I'm sorry. I was wrong…"

"Tch." L sneered, "You Osvalds like to throw around 'sorry' all too easily. What makes this one any more genuine than the rest."

"Things have changed. Everything is different now. We have to stick together."

"Do we? All of a sudden you're preaching about family and loyalty? Where have you been for the past decade or so dumb ass? Or is it now that you're just as much of a freak as you always believed me to be that you want us to 'stick together? Figures."

Theo frowned, pulling away; his fist clenching in his lap. Small sparks started up along his fingers and he had to take a deep breath and force himself to relax before speaking again.

"So why did you help me? Back at the house. You helped my with the lightning."

L sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. There were some tine raised bumps there along the sides that he hadn't noticed before. He would have to examine them more closely later. He looked once more at the depressed looking blond.

"Because if I didn't then you could have killed someone. And then you would have really lost it and maybe destroyed the house and both of us along with it. I really wasn't interested in being turned into a crispy blue critter just yet."

"Oh" Theo sounded small as he hunched in on himself. "… purely self-preservation then?"

"Not purely…" L gave another, heavier sigh at the pitiful looking lump in the seat next to him. "I didn't want you to go through the pain of knowing you'd hurt your mom and dad. Odin and Frigga aren't my favorite people but they're your parents and they love you a lot. Sitting by and doing nothing to stop you would have been pretty shitty of me."

He startled as warm fingers threaded through his and he glanced up at a softly smiling Theo. "I can't thank you enough for that Laurie. You saved us all."

L flushed a deep blue, unsettled by the emotion in the other man's words and eyes. He yanked his hand out of Theo's and huffed, turning to look out of the window once more.

"Don't get used to it, doofus. I won't always be there to hold your hand through this. You're going to have to marshal all of your brain cells together if you want to survive what's coming, you hear?"

"Yeah…" Theo's voice was still warm with emotion as he snuggled deeper into the seat right next to L instead of returning to his old one; all but leaning into L's space like the big hulking lug he was. "I understand perfectly."

L scowled at the blond's reflection in the window, that dopey smile Theo got whenever he was utterly pleased with himself. The idiot. It was so damned aggravating to see. L scoffed again and tried to make himself comfortable against the seat, shifting until he settled his horns into a more comfortable position. 

In the window's reflection he could just make out Coulson across the aisle, staring placidly at them both. A spike of irritation surged in him at the man having witnessed the odd exchange and he shut his eyes resolutely, pushing away everything else but the constant hum of the engine. 

He was so over all of these fools.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and that's it... for now. i have a whole story plotted out. this was just the first part. i love Teen Avengers fics. Hope you enjoyed!

**Author's Note:**

> Nehebkau: A two-headed snake in Egyptian mythology.


End file.
